Cookman Law

06/17/2026

Being named trustee for a loved one with a disability is a meaningful responsibility - and one that requires a different kind of care than standard trust administration. ⚠️

A distribution that seems straightforward could accidentally reduce SSI benefits. A payment that's fine for one beneficiary might affect a Section 8 housing voucher for another. And depending on the situation, there may also be public benefits your beneficiary is entitled to but not yet receiving.

In this video, Ellen walks through what trustees need to look at before making any distributions, from identifying current benefits and coordinating with an ABLE account manager, to understanding asset limits and care coordination responsibilities.

If you're serving as a trustee for a beneficiary with a disability, this one is well worth your time.

🔗 Watch the full video on our YouTube channel!

06/16/2026

One of our favorite moments in a planning meeting is usually an accident. 😊

We'll be on a Zoom call with a family, deep in the details, and their adult child just... pokes their head into the frame for a few seconds.

We love it every single time. Because in that one moment, the whole plan stops being about paperwork. This isn't an abstract "beneficiary." This is their kid. This is who all of it is for.

You can see the love going both directions - and suddenly every decision makes more sense, because we can see exactly who we're protecting.

People think this work is about documents. Most days, it's about the person who walks through the frame for ten seconds and reminds everyone why we're here. Who's the person that makes your "why" make sense? We'd love to hear about them. 💙

06/15/2026

"Who's my next of kin?" comes up all the time in my work, usually from someone trying to figure out who would inherit what. And I understand why.

Here's the part that tends to surprise people: "next of kin" is really a medical term. When it comes to who actually receives your assets, the term we use is "intestate succession" - the order a court follows when someone dies without a will.

In this article, I walk through how that order works. The short version: when you have a trust in place, this doesn't get left to a court to decide. You've already answered the question for the people you love.

Grateful to Bottom Line Inc for the chance to share this one!

In the field of estate planning, clients often have questions about “next of kin”—what is next of kin?…what is next of kin order?…who has more

06/15/2026

"Your plan is in place. Now let's keep it working." That's the idea behind our Trust Maintenance Program - and here's what it actually involves.

Every member gets an annual Legal Wellness Review with our team: a real look at your documents, your beneficiary designations, and whether your assets are still properly connected to your trust.

Members can also join our exclusive quarterly Office Hours, where we walk through legal changes - like the 2026 Medi-Cal update - explain how they might affect you, and answer whatever questions you bring.

We also provide a secure document vault for your estate, insurance, and care information, plus member discounts on additional legal work and coordination with your financial and tax professionals.

Clients tell us the real value isn't any single feature. It's knowing someone is watching the road ahead so they don't have to. It's not a recurring bill. It's peace of mind, built in.

06/12/2026

Most families create an estate plan and assume it's set for good. But certain moments change what your plan needs to say, and they're easy to miss.

Three of the most common:

- A marriage or divorce: yours, or a child's. It can change who should inherit, who should serve as trustee, and how assets are protected.

- A new baby or grandchild: a new person to plan for, and often a reason to revisit guardianship and beneficiary choices.

- Buying or selling a home: new property has to be properly titled in your trust, or it can end up in probate despite all your planning.

If any of these have happened since you signed, it may be good to set up a review - not because something's wrong, but because it should still say what you'd want it to.

Which of these has happened in your family recently?

06/11/2026

A note we received recently has stayed with us.

A family reached out needing urgent estate planning help. After our intake conversation, it became clear that we weren't going to be the right fit, but their need was real and time-sensitive. So we did what we'd want anyone to do for our own family: we pointed them toward attorneys who would be a good fit and made sure they had a path forward before they hung up.

The reply that came back:

"Wow, you are the first law firm that really demonstrates caring for people who are not their clients! That speaks highly of you!"

We don't think of it as anything remarkable, but we’re thankful for their note. If we can't be the right firm for someone's situation, we'd rather they leave the call with a good referral than with a polite no.

But the response was a good reminder that this isn't how every firm operates - and that for the families looking for someone who'll point them in the right direction even when there's nothing in it for us, that orientation matters.

It's how we'd want to be treated. So it's how we try to treat the people who reach out, whether they end up working with us or not.

06/10/2026

SSI, SSDI, child disability benefits - they sound similar, but they work very differently, and one of the most valuable benefits is one Social Security rarely brings up on its own.

In this week’s video, I sat down with disability attorney Katherine Siegfried to walk through how each benefit works, why so many claims get denied, and the rule that protects every applicant: always appeal, never refile. A truly useful watch for any family supporting a loved one with a disability.

06/09/2026

To the special needs parents in our community: there's a fear you may have never said out loud. We want you to know we understand it.

There are parents who want their children to live incredible, full lives…but also quietly hope their child will not outlive them. This isn’t from a lack of love, but from the very opposite. It's from love with nowhere safe to land. The fear of your child being left in a world that might not protect them, might take advantage of them, might leave them without anyone who truly shows up.

If that's a weight you've carried in silence, please hear this from us: you are not alone, and you are not wrong to feel it.

No plan can take all of that fear away. We won't pretend otherwise. But the right planning can lift one huge piece off the pile: the part where you lie awake wondering whether anyone will be there, with the authority and the resources to act, when you no longer can.

It removes as many preventable problems as we can reach. It means the people who love your child most will have the tools to act on that love.

That's pretty big. That’s everything that's within our reach. If this is a fear you've carried, we're always here to talk and help you create a plan that works - gently, and at your pace.

06/08/2026

You signed your trust. The binder's on the shelf. The hard part is behind you, right?

Here's what surprises a lot of families: signing isn't the finish line. It's the starting point of a plan that has to keep up with your life.

A trust reflects your family and the law on the day you sign it. But both keep changing. You buy a home, open an account, welcome a grandchild. The law shifts underneath you, like California's Medi-Cal asset limit returning in 2026. None of these send you a reminder.

That's why our team treats your plan as something we keep working alongside you, not a document we hand over and walk away from. This is why we do our best to help you stay on top of the changes that can affect your plan, and why we created our Trust Maintenance Program.

Has it been more than a year or two since anyone looked at your plan? It might be time for a review.

06/05/2026

During our team retreat in Austin, in between all the activities - the dinners, the shopping, the ranch - the house we rented might have been the best part. 🏡

A long wooden table that fit all of us. A kitchen big enough for whoever wanted to help (or just hover and chat). A pool out back with lounge chairs and string lights overhead. Mornings with coffee. Afternoons with takeout salads and conversations that wandered everywhere. Evenings where nobody was in a hurry to do the next thing.

We're a remote firm, which means most of our days happen on screens. So when we get to sit at the same table, eat the same meal, talk about everything and nothing - that's not a small thing. That's everything.

Until we meet again, ladies!!